Rohit Sharma has been on a roll since making a comeback from a hamstring injury and the India opener, after picking up the Man-of-the-match award on Sunday, said he looked to continue his rich vein of form, PTI reported. “It is my job to score runs as an opener. The team really depends on the start that we give. It adds to success of the team.
I just go out and play my game. That is what I am going to do in the future, see the opposition and plan accordingly,” said Rohit, after scoring a match-winning 125 in the fifth One-day International against Australia.
Though the Indian Premier League was his first competitive tournament after recovering from a serious thigh injury, he got the balling rolling in the Champions Trophy before he was rested for the following West Indies tour.
He came back to play in Sri Lanka and scored two successive hundreds and a fifty. And now, against Australia, he scored two half centuries and a classy hundred to help his side rout the visitors 4-1 in the five-match series.
The openers did do a commendable job for India in the series with Mumbai mates Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane amassing three 100 plus partnerships in a row. Rohit said he likes to bat alongside Rahane, who got to play in the series due to the absence of Shikhar Dhawan. “We have played lot of cricket in Mumbai. We talk a lot in the middle, we discuss when need to take risk and when not to. These are the little things that help build partnerships. He played really well in the series and handled the new ball well,” the 30-year-old said.
‘The future is bright’
Reserves who got the opportunity to play in the series performed, be it Rahane or Axar Patel. When asked whether he is part of a team that has the strongest bench strength in a long time, Rohit said: “I cant comment on that [whether we have the strongest bench strength now] as I have been with the Indian team only for the last 10 years.”
He added, “This team certainly has good pool of reserves. Whoever has got the opportunity, has come in and performed. It shows we have got guys who can take up the challenge and perform. We missed Yuzvendra Chahal today [on Sunday], Axar came in and got wickets. Rahane scored consistently in the series. It goes to show the future is bright.
Rohit also praised the bowlers for bouncing back regularly from tough situations, “All the bowlers who participated have gone with the mindset of taking wickets. That is what these guys have done. To restrict Australia to 242 was not easy. Even the last game we thought they would reach 350. The bowlers have allowed our batters to play freely,” he said.